ID#: 1978 Nov 19 : Houston : The Rise of ISIS:

Hello Young Professionals, please note, the previous location for this event, The BlackFinn Grille, has just unexpectedly closed. The new location for this event is less than 1 mile away:

Mixed Emotions Fine Art Gallery - 95 Tuam Street, Houston, TX 77006. 

For registration & further details, please see below:

The Rise of ISIS: On the Ground in Syria & Iraq - A First-hand Account

SPEAKER Barak Barfi, New America Foundation DATE & TIME Wednesday, November 19th Registration & Food: 6:30 - 7:15 p.m.  Program: 7:15 - 8:30 p.m. *Heavy appetizers included* LOCATION Mixed Emotions Fine Art Gallery 95 Tuam Street Houston, TX 77006 ONLINE REGISTRATION

Barak Barfi has reported extensively for many years from both Iraq and Syria, where he has covertly entered the country many times and been confronted by Syrian security forces. Additionally, he was a long-time close friend of Steven Sotloff, the American journalist who was executed by ISIS this September. During Sotloff’s year in capativity, Barfi was the principal advisor and a mediator for the Sotloff family as they tried to negotiate his release. And he has served as the family's spokesman since his death.

How did ISIS grow and spread so quickly? Why does it attract so many foreign fighters? How and when does it choose to fight Assad's forces, the moderate Syrian rebels, the Kurds and the Iraqi army? What is the nature of ISIS’s relationship with Al Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra and other extremists groups? And what threat does ISIS pose beyond the region in places like the U.S. and Europe?    

Barak Barfi is a research fellow with the New America Foundation and a former visiting fellow with the Brookings Institution. Specializing in Arab and Islamic affairs, his articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, New Republic, Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst and Project Syndicate. Barfi is also a frequent commentator on CNN, BBC, MSNBC, Fox News and France 24. He has testified before Congress about the threats posed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In addition to his time in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, Barfi spent six months in Libya during the revolution.

Heavy appetizers included. Please be sure to register with the link above. If possible please register in advance, as this event may reach capacity.